# Finding information with generative AI

The use of AI during your studies is not always allowed. Each program has its own rules about what is permitted and what is not. Always check the course guide for your subject before using AI for an assignment or paper.

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, or DeepSeek are convienient tools when you need information quickly on a topic. You can communicate with them easily in natural language.

Using prompts, you can give GenAI tools tasks or ask questions to generate new content such as text (e.g., summaries or reviews), code, audio, video, and images.

Now that you are familiar with scientific information, you understand that using GenAI-generated content in your paper is not without risks:

- You don’t know which sources were used and cannot verify whether the information is correct. When you ask ChatGPT for sources, they are often fabricated.

- A tool is only as good as the data it was trained on, and that data can contain errors or outdated information.

- AI tools often have limited access to scientific sources and frequently not to the most recent publications.

- No one checks the quality of AI-generated text; that is your responsibility.

Be transparent when you use ChatGPT-generated information in your paper. Specify what you used it for and the prompt you used. Also include it in your reference list. Failing to do so can put you at risk of being accused of academic misconduct.

Be aware that a GenAI tool cannot do or know everything. GenAI tools are designed to provide a service and satisfy users, so their output often appears confident, friendly, and correct.

This video has advice on fact-checking AI-generated citations and scholarly sources. Source : https://libguides.westsoundacademy.org/artificial-intelligence-ai-and-information-literacy/fact-checking-ai-with-lateral-reading

News release about a study from UU.nl website, gedownload op August 14 2025, link